Overhead transporter for oriented goods



-March 17, 1970 A. Ross:

A OVERHEAD TRANSPORTER FOR ORIENTED GOODS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 28. 1967 Fig.1

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Attorney A. ROSS! OVERHEAD TRANSPORTER FOR ORIENTED GOODS 'March 17, 1970 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 28, 1967 Adriana Rossi INVENTOR.

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Attorney March 17,1910 Moss. 3,501,022

OVERHEAD TRANSPORTER FOR ORIENTED GOODS Filedl July 28. 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 H, a f a 1:1 s J F 3 Adriana Ross! INVENTOR.

Altozney United States Patent OVERHEAD TRANSPORTER FOR ORIENTED GOODS Adriano Rossi, Milan, Italy, assignor to Adriano & F. Lli Rossi S.p.A., Milan, Italy, a corporation of Italy Filed July 28, 1967, Ser. No. 656,860 Claims priority, application Italy, Aug. 6, 1966, 18,296/ 66 Int. Cl. B66c 19/00 US. Cl. 212-128 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Transporter for oriented goods, such as sheet-metal plates to be immersed into a galvanizing bath in a predetermined position, with a carriage movable on elevated rails and a telescoping column depending from the carriage to hold the goods, the top section of the column being rigid with the carriage and the other sections being nonrotatable with reference thereto; a horizontal carrying arm rigid with the bottom section is receivable, upon upward retraction, between depending prongs formed by flanges of a downwardly open profile of a generally horizontal beam rigid with the top section to prevent dislodgment of the goods during transportation.

My present invention relates to a device for the transportation of workpieces which must be moved both horizontally and vertically and, upon such movement, are to retain a predetermined orientation. Typical of such goods are large articles, such as sheet-metal plates, which are to be immersed in a bath for galvanization or other surface treatment.

The general object of my invention is to provide a compact transporter of this type which, moving on an elevated rail, insures the correct positioning of workpieces suspended therefrom.

A more particular object is to provide, in such transporter, a workpiece holder which can be raised or lowered with reference to a supporting overhead carriage by simple means and without any possibility of rotation relative to the carriage.

A further object of my invention is to provide means in a transporter of this type for positively preventing any dislodgment of a workpiece or its support from the holder therefor in the upwardly retracted position of the latter.

These objects are realized, pursuant to my present invention, by the provision of a transporter whose railborne carriage is rigid with the top section of a depending telescoping column composed of relatively nonrotatable sections, the bottom section of the column being rigid with a holder for the goods to be carried. This holder, advantageously, is in the form of a substantially horizontal arm whose ends are engageable with lugs rising from the workpiece, or from a frame, yoke or other supporting member therefor, these ends being receivable upon telescoping of the column in a downwardly open profile of a generally horizontal beam which is rigid with the top section (and therefore with the carriage) and embraces the suspension lugs to prevent their dislodgement during transportation to and form the treatment site. The contraction and expansion of the column may be carried out in a simple manner with the aid of a flexible link, such as a chain, anchored to the bottom section and to a preferably motor-driven capstan on the carriage.

The invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a transporter according to the invention, shown in the extended position of its telescoping column;

ice

The transporter shown in the drawing comprises a I carriage 1 having wheels 12 which ride on a pair of elevated rails 2 forming an overhead track. The wheels are driven, via conventional gearing, by a reversible electric motor 4 which is mounted on the carriage and may be controlled by manually operable switches not shown. A similarly controllable reversible motor 5 drives a capstan 13 on which a chain 14 can be wound up.

Carriage 1 is rigid with a depending tubular boss 6 which forms the top section of a telescoping column 8 having further sections 8a, 8b and 80. As best seen in FIG. 4, these sections are of noncircular (here square) profile so that the bottom section 8c will be in an invariable angular position with reference to the top section 6. This bottom section 80, to which the lower end of the chain 14 is anchored, is rigid with a horizontal transverse arm 9 whose ends carry pairs of transversely spaced pins 15 designed to straddle respective lugs 11, of inverted-L shape, which rise from a bar 10 supporting a workpiece 16. Bar 10 is receivable in bifurcations 17 atop a treatment tank 3 into which the workpiece 16, held on the bar 10 by clamps 18, is to be immersed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the tank 3 may be subdivided into relatively narrow compartments so that the accurate positioning of the workpiece, e.g. a sheet-metal plate, is essential. It will be understood that, for successive treatments, the carriage 1 may be shifted to different tracks (not shown) aligned with other compartments of the tank.

Column section 6 is rigid with a generally horizontal beam 7 having a channel-shaped, downwardly open profile adapted to accommodate the arm 9 in the upwardly retracted position thereof, as best seen in FIG. 3, between a pair of transversely spaced flanges 7a, 7b bracketing that arm (FIG. 3). The depending extremities of the beam 7, in straddling the ends of arm 9, prevent a complete detachment of the lugs 11 from the arm even if, e.g. through a jolt, the bent top of a lug should rise above the flanking pins 15.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, lugs 11 can be readily detached from the arm 9 in a lowered position of the latter, upon the resting of the bar 10 on the tank 3 or on some other base.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a simple and compact transporter for the purpose described which, without the aid of cumbersome structure such as lateral guardplates, positively maintains a desired orientation of the entrained goods at every stage of its operation and which insures their safe conveying to and from a treatment site or other destination. Specific structural details, such as the cross-sectional shape of the column 8, may of course be modified in various ways apparent to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A transporter for oriented goods, comprising elevated rail means; a carriage movable along said rail means; a telescoping column depending from said carriage, said column consisting of at least two elongated relatively nonrotatable sections including a top section rigid with said carriage and a bottom section provided with fixedly attached holding means in a plane of said column for supporting goods to be carried; and control means for alternately extending and contracting said column; said holding means comprising a substantially horizontal arm having ends engageable with lugs rising from the goods, said column being provided with a generally horizontal beam rigid with said top section and coplanar with said arm, said beam having a downwardly open profile with depending transversely spaced flanges bracketing the end of said arm together with said lugs in a fully contracted position of said column.

2. A transporter as defined in claim 1 wherein said holding means comprises a substantially horizontal arm having ends engageable with lugs rising from the goods, said column being provided with a generally horizontal beam rigid with said top section and coplanar with said arm, said beam having a downwardly open profile for receiving at least theends of said arm together with said lugs in a fully contracted position of said column.

3. A transporter as defined in claim 1 wherein said beam terminates in bifurcate extremities with depending prongs straddling said ends in said contracted position.

4. A transformer as defined in claim 1 wherein said control means comprises a flexible link attached to said bottom section and mechanism on said carriage engaging said link.

1,098,090 5/1914 Brower 2l2l28 3,247,974 4/ 1966 Dechantsreiter 2l2l28 3,269,561 8/1966 De Cigt 2l2l28 2,869,734 1/ 1959 Ernestus 21221 3,261,589 7/1966 Neumeier 254-186 3,288,309 11/1966 Fleisch 2l2l28 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,048,354 7/ 1951 France.

HARVEY C. HORNSBY, Primary Examiner 

